Sports Illustrated: Seahawks will win NFC West

With the 2013 NFL season about to begin, it’s time for the national media’s final preseason dumping of rankings, polls and predictions. The latest comes from Sports Illustrated, which is expecting the Seahawks to edge the 49ers and win the NFC West.

SI analysts Chris Burke and Doug Farrar each expect the Seahawks to finish first in the division and San Francisco to finish second. Burke predicted the Rams to beat out the Caridinals for third place, while Farrar gave an edge to the Cards.

Here’s what Burke had to say about the NFC West:

What more is there to say about the Seahawks and 49ers right now? They both should be Super Bowl contenders, behind superstar quarterbacks. Just don’t count out the Rams. I nearly picked the West to be a three-playoff team division, but thought the in-fighting would be too fierce for that to happen. Arizona, meanwhile, could be leaps and bounds ahead of its 2012 self — yet may not be favored in a game all year.

And here’s what Farrar said:

Welcome to the Terrordome. The Seahawks and 49ers have many strengths on both sides of the ball; I’m just a bit more positive about Seattle’s offensive playmakers and I want to see how healthy Justin Smith is before going all in on San Francisco’s defense. Look for Carson Palmer to enjoy a small renaissance in Arizona — not enough to make the playoffs, but enough to leapfrog the Rams.